"Daily" Race Discussion [Archive]

[tariklehaine]

This is so tough for me because I'm relatively new to GTS (DR of D) and had a SR of A until last week's A and B races that were just full of morons now I'm a B and low D. Trying to work up from the DR of D is challenging and I don't know how the heck I'm going to advance. Prior to last week I was qualifying 7th and 5th and finishing 2nd/3rd. Last night I skipped qualifying started at the back and over took others to finish in the top 10. Decided to do a qualifying run and landed in 10th.

I've been hesitant to qualify even though I know I can place higher but I'm hesitant to do so due to the smash up derby that erased my DR from last week. Thoughts? Should I just continue to improve my qualifying time and battle for a higher position?

Best way to avoid the chaos is indeed to set a good qualifying lap. I always get 30 to 60 minutes into qualifying so I will be at last in the top 5 of a race.

What you can do about increasing your SR is trying to drive as clean as possible for yourself (ofcourse with the current penalty system other people can mess it up for you...). So another way to grind it is racing at the back of the pack without making contact with other drivers or going of the road.

 

[gtpierre]

That's exactly what makes racecraft. Many B riders are fast as long as they are on their own. Together with other drivers, they then feel slowed down and become dirty. The slipstream plays a big role. As a result, they often have the feeling to be much faster than the frontman and have to overtake as fast as possible. I have often experienced that these players then slow down much later than usual. Instead in this situation it would be necessary to slow down a little earlier because of the slipstream and the resulting higher speed. But many of these do not see these connections. Or they feel superior and believe they could do it anyway. I do not need to describe the results of such actions here. We have all experienced this too often.

I don't really see this. I'm DR.B, I rarely have DR.A players behind me, and the few times it happened they did not drive better or worse than other DR.B (fair play wise). As for slowing down too late in the slipstream, it seems even the top players are doing this mistake.

The big problem (at least in DR.B, in all SR category) is impatient and overconfident/arrogant people thinking "i qualified 14th, but I'm expecting to pass at least 5 players per lap". In other words far too many people expect to pull a "last to 1st" when they obviously don't have the skills for that.

I think if you quali time puts you 14th you should not expect better than a result like 7th or 8th in a clean race with no major incident.

When racing against people of "similar" skills, one overtake per lap (average track lenght) is a good job. Obviously, it often happens that you gain more position in the first lap due to the typical first lap incident.


---

Also, what if SR category rating was directly linked to something like a clean race rate based on the last two weeks or so ? I think it could really separate easily the clean players and those who are not

 

[weazelgt]

Never trust someone's ratings. I've gone from A/S to D/E in a span of 3 races. Right after that, I went from SR E to SR S, 3 races later.

I agree, everyone on here complaining about certain A,B,C groups is laughable... every group has good and bad drivers and most definitely dirty drivers.

I must say I haven't been racing much but in the few races I have entered in the last few weeks have been very clean, it's been great.

 

[Dairyworker]

Had some good races on the A race this morning. Well behaved reacers and a lot of names i trust, made for some really good racing with no stupid moves. I have gotten my time down to 43.7xx but have an opt of .368 I have a really hard time with these big momentum focused tracks

 

[sdi_03]

Wellll, race C q time to 2:17.257. Optimum was 2:16.21x so over 1 sec of mistakes in that lap....
Car is FT-1 not the supra. BB 2 rear and TCS 1. TCS feels different, like less slow Also the steering feels exactly the same with it on or off.
So maybe something changed. Not complaining thou. Feels good and seems to do its job.
Will try to hunt that 2:16 time tomorrow.

 

[Adam Barber]

Just got a race C where people kept on trying to overtake me with chances and spots that were non existent. Like racing 19 Maldonado's

 

[BallPtPenTheif]

Never trust someone's ratings. I've gone from A/S to D/E in a span of 3 races. Right after that, I went from SR E to SR S, 3 races later.

I really wish they would have an Up or Down arrow next to DR and SR ratings in the lineup screen so we can see how someone's behavior is trending before we start the match. It would be helpful in spotting SR bankers who drive like spastics during their down trend.

 

[sturk0167]

The big problem (at least in DR.B, in all SR category) is impatient and overconfident/arrogant people thinking "i qualified 14th, but I'm expecting to pass at least 5 players per lap". In other words far too many people expect to pull a "last to 1st" when they obviously don't have the skills for that.

It could be that some people who qualify 14th just feel like they've got nothing to lose.

 

[breeminator]

I think if you quali time puts you 14th you should not expect better than a result like 7th or 8th in a clean race with no major incident.

Why would you expect to gain any places at all? If you're faster than the 9th, 10th etc drivers, why didn't you qualify ahead of them? I'm not saying you'll never overtake anyone, but I don't see that anyone should ever really have an expectation of gaining places, when they've already failed at the first opportunity to prove they're faster.

 

[BallPtPenTheif]

Just got a race C where people kept on trying to overtake me with chances and spots that were non existent. Like racing 19 Maldonado's

This S curve tip may or may not be relevant. Cutting directly through the second chicane and flat out onto the straight only yields a 3 second penalty and I was able to gain 2 seconds on my time via this cut. It might not be a bad option to temporarily gain positions to make distance or to avoid an obvious collision on the 2nd esse curve.

 

[Adam Barber]

This S curve tip may or may not be relevant. Cutting directly through the second chicane and flat out onto the straight only yields a 3 second penalty and I was able to gain 2 seconds on my time via this cut. It might not be a bad option to temporarily gain positions to make distance or to avoid an obvious collision on the 2nd esse curve.

Doesn't help that I've been pushed of the track when pulling alongside for an overtake as well

 

[gtpierre]

Why would you expect to gain any places at all? If you're faster than the 9th, 10th etc drivers, why didn't you qualify ahead of them? I'm not saying you'll never overtake anyone, but I don't see that anyone should ever really have an expectation of gaining places, when they've already failed at the first opportunity to prove they're faster.

Well, some people do 5 quali laps, some do 50, so the QT is not an absolute way to determine who is the fastest... In addition, If someone qualifies .2s slower, you should expect him to be able to pass you and inversely. Because of variability, or different sector speeds, different cars, draft (...)

It could be that some people who qualify 14th just feel like they've got nothing to lose.

well, SR... but yeah I see your point.

When I qualify poorly, I just see the race as a way to see where I lose time, how to improve etc...

 

[Pigems]

Yes Online is not the same as any Offline mode either, it has less grip. The 1st place driver in the EMEA region is also using the handbrake.

Handbrake? For which track, B?

 

[weazelgt]

Why would you expect to gain any places at all? If you're faster than the 9th, 10th etc drivers, why didn't you qualify ahead of them? I'm not saying you'll never overtake anyone, but I don't see that anyone should ever really have an expectation of gaining places, when they've already failed at the first opportunity to prove they're faster.

this is very limited thinking.

 

[YoBuck]

Why would you expect to gain any places at all? If you're faster than the 9th, 10th etc drivers, why didn't you qualify ahead of them? I'm not saying you'll never overtake anyone, but I don't see that anyone should ever really have an expectation of gaining places, when they've already failed at the first opportunity to prove they're faster.

Qualy is different from race pace everybody should know this. I’m usually actually faster in a race than qualy, for lots of others it’s the other way around.

 

[BallPtPenTheif]

Doesn't help that I've been pushed of the track when pulling alongside for an overtake as well

Right, that's why turn 1 is a good spot for an outside overtake. If you get dive bombed and bumped off of the track, just take the hit, run off of the track and out onto the straight for the cut. You might give the other guy a 5 second penalty, maybe get a 3 second penalty, and add 2 seconds to your lap time. That seems like a much better result then turning back into the dive bomber and taking your own penalty or scrub too much time from your lap.

If an area has a big run off or running wide connects well to the next straight, then you have a safe opportunity to outside pass an excessively aggressive driver.

 

[theschledy]

Not sure if it's just me, but my DR has been in a free fall for the past two weeks. I'm down 10,000 DR since the Apr 23rd update.

It also seems like overall driving is getting substantially worse. Having an S sportsmanship seems pointless these days.

 

[Loverson]

Qualy is different from race pace everybody should know this. I’m usually actually faster in a race than qualy, for lots of others it’s the other way around.

Also depending the type of race plus car matter a lot. A sprint race is way different than an endurance etc then qualify with a car that works better on corners rather than straight etc.

It's not as black and white

 

[sturk0167]

Why would you expect to gain any places at all? If you're faster than the 9th, 10th etc drivers, why didn't you qualify ahead of them? I'm not saying you'll never overtake anyone, but I don't see that anyone should ever really have an expectation of gaining places, when they've already failed at the first opportunity to prove they're faster.

Don't forget that some people starting at the back didn't qualify at all. I started race C in 15th position, this morning. I was in 8th position at the end of lap 1, with no penalties.

My point is that if you're one of the slowest qualifiers, the faster people may be in front of you and behind you.

 

[Adam Barber]

Kicking myself for spinning twice during race c and loosing about 30 seconds and finished about the same from first. A tale of what could have been.
Edit: 1st spin was on fast kink in miyabi section when going on the curbs and second was on last corner, again getting a little greedy with the curbs on the exit.

 

[FeloneousMonk]

Qualy is different from race pace everybody should know this. I’m usually actually faster in a race than qualy, for lots of others it’s the other way around.

I find that my race pace is slower due to traffic, however I do very well at overtaking people when the opportunity presents itself. I'm patient and if I qualify midfield I can usually move up due to overtaking opportunities or waiting for others to battle and subsequently making mistakes. With that being said if I'm low in the grid I'm realistic with my expectations and know that the chances of me making the top five are slim.

It's amazing to see how external pressure adversely affects people (including myself) during a race.

 

[O604]

Not sure if it's just me, but my DR has been in a free fall for the past two weeks. I'm down 10,000 DR since the Apr 23rd update.

It also seems like overall driving is getting substantially worse. Having an S sportsmanship seems pointless these days.

I don't think so. I had a very clean week last week. Had a few frustrating ones before that.

For me anyway the car/track makes a big difference. I'm decent at some but others I'm still lost. So week to week the competition varies from comfortable to impossible. When I have weeks where my DR/SR dips it's because I'm racing before I'm ready and not matching up to the "B" level on that combo.

It would be helpful if there was a recommended time for each driver's level on that race. ie this week Race B QT for DR B I figure is around 1:39.4, which I'm working on.

Sometimes I can't get to the level I want and miss this week completely. I did that, i think, 3 weeks ago.

 

[Gersicer]

Tried a few race C....first one disconnected from server before start .... Oh well ....second one, a punt fest ... Third one , DC on lap 4 while the race was going very good and looked pretty clean

Edit : tried another one ...great race. Went from 8th to 5th with a M4 M4 stop. Good clean racing. That one was fun. So, hop in for another one .... DC before start ....again !!

That's it for me today. Don't have time to just sit around and wait for the server to be in a good mood

 

[SpaceMaN47y0]

Having an S sportsmanship seems pointless these days.

I've felt that way for a while now. Especially since people have 2 3 4 (or more!) accounts, all the ratings are pretty pointless. Match us by lap times, they know what they are.

 

[ASH32]

Handbrake? For which track, B?

Yes, they were basically sliding like rally around some corners and were still first, think it's been beaten now, unless the current first started to do it as well but they were almost 1st driving normally before so they likely have not.

 

[Famine]

I've felt that way for a while now. Especially since people have 2 3 4 (or more!) accounts, all the ratings are pretty pointless. Match us by lap times, they know what they are.

Too easy to game that. If you set a deliberately slow laptime - or don't set one at all - you'll be paired with people who really are that slow, and walk it... until everyone else does that.

It might work better if the game held some kind of raw long-term pace score for you and matched you according to that, with SR and DR, and laptime all secondary factors but used where possible for closer matching.

 

[MattJones_e36]

Yes, they were basically sliding like rally around some corners and were still first, think it's been beaten now, unless the current first started to do it as well but they were almost 1st driving normally before so they likely have not.

Handbrake trick is really broken, driving normally i couldn't beat .500, tried it now and was able to bring it down to .300, really doubt it works like that in real life lmao

 

[Tea_Leaves]

So I did another Race C this time using the 4C and with a no-stop strategy on Hards.

I started P20 without qualifying and finished P11. I was able to go all the way using FM1 and short-shifting. I did drop from 4th to 11th during laps 5 and 6 since everyone man and his dog was coming out of the pits with fresh tyres so it was difficult to maintain a gap. I ran out of fuel right before the finish line; someone punted my butt to help me across (thank you, kind stranger) although I did go flat out around the last few sectors of the final lap.

My tyres weren't in bad shape and felt okay throughout. Front tyres were 3/4 red and the backs were a little over half red. I'm not sure if this is a quicker option over pitting but it was fun to attempt a different strategy, at least.

 

[ASH32]

Handbrake trick is really broken, driving normally i couldn't beat .500, tried it now and was able to bring it down to .300, really doubt it works like that in real life lmao

Yes I doubt the people using it have had much practice using it either so it's possible we are not at full exploit potential yet.

So coming soon is handbrake disabled from FIA events and then eventually Sport mode too.

 

[CrimsonKing]

What a breath of fresh air this race C paired with last weeks'. I was tired of fuji and suzuka all the time. Feels like a different game from what we've had the last months.